Purbeck Isle: Family mark anniversary of Dorset fishing boat tragedy

David McFarlane (left), Jack Craig (centre) and Robert Prowse had been fishing on the Purbeck Isle

The family of a man who died in a fishing boat accident are gathering to remember him on the 10-year anniversary of the tragedy.

Robert Prowse, 20, was on the Purbeck Isle along with David McFarlane, 35, and Jack Craig, 21, when it sank off Dorset on 17 May 2012.

All three men died. Mr Prowse's body has never been found.

An investigation found the boat sank so quickly the crew were unable to don lifejackets before they went overboard.

Mr Prowse's family, including his three daughters, have asked people to gather at a memorial bench in Weymouth Harbour to remember the three men.

His father Peter Prowse told the BBC: "We miss him, he'll never be forgotten.

"When he was a kid, in the summer months, you'd see young mothers with kids trying to do crab fishing off the quay and he'd be there helping them out, showing them all how to do it. He was a popular bloke in the town."

The Purbeck Isle was found on the seabed with its life-raft still on board at a depth of 50m (164ft)

The fishermen had set off from Weymouth on the wooden potting vessel when it foundered.

It sank so quickly they were unable to broadcast a mayday call, collect their lifejackets or manually launch the vessel's four-man life raft before they went overboard, a Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report said in 2013.

The boat was not found until the day after it sank, south of Portland Bill at a depth of 164ft (50m).

The body of Mr McFarlane, from Weymouth, was found entangled in ropes attached to Purbeck Isle's two lifebuoys the day after the sinking. The wreck of the vessel was found later that day.

The search for the two missing fishermen was called off on 19 May.

The body of Mr Craig, from Portland, was recovered from the seabed in Lyme Bay by a trawler on 9 August. The body of Mr Prowse, from Weymouth, has never been found.

Mr McFarlane's daughter Bethany Huntley said: "I can't believe it's been 10 years, it still feels like yesterday.

"It hurts the same as it did the day we were told the boat was missing, I don't think it will ever get any easier."